NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - When Republican

presidential candidate Donald Trump's hush money trial began in

a Manhattan courthouse on Monday, cable TV news coverage of the

case was as divided as America itself.

A Reuters review of 2-1/2 hours of daytime coverage showed

the distinctly partisan approaches of the Fox News Channel and

MSNBC News to the trial taking place in the midst of an election

campaign pitting the former president against Democratic

President Joe Biden.

Fox News, which is the country's most watched cable

television network and leans Republican, gave significantly more

air time to other national news including protests on U.S.

college campuses against the war in Gaza.

Liberal-leaning network MSNBC, a home for anti-Trump voices,

focused solely on the trial.

The split-screen-like coverage reflects a U.S. cable news

ecosystem that creates alternate realities for viewers,

reaffirming existing beliefs, say U.S. journalism experts.

Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom, forcing

Americans to rely on media outlets for news of what is unfolding

out of public view, including cable channels Fox News, MSNBC and

CNN.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records

to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in

2016 to silence her about a sexual encounter she says they had

and which he denies.

Much is at stake. Some public opinion polls suggest some

voters may choose not to vote for Trump if he is convicted.

REAFFIRMING EXISTING IDEOLOGIES

What people watch on cable news reaffirms their ideologies,

Stephanie Edgerly, professor of journalism at Northwestern

University's Medill School of Journalism, told Reuters.

"We start to see that having really powerful effects on how

they see the world: what they think is right and wrong and who

they're going to vote for and how favorable or unfavorable they

view presidential candidates," said Edgerly, who studies news

audiences.

MSNBC's top anchor, Rachel Maddow, who was inside the

courthouse during opening statements, described Trump as

"annoyed" and "resigned, maybe angry."

"He seems like a man who is miserable to be here," she said

on the air later outside the courthouse.

Fox News senior correspondent Eric Shawn had a different

view of Trump's demeanor, saying the former president had sat

quietly at the defense table during proceedings.

The ticker at the bottom of the MSNBC screen covered nearly

every trial development as a "breaking news" flash.

MSNBC repeatedly flashed a quote from the prosecution

saying, "It was election fraud, pure and simple" and another

from the defense saying "nothing wrong with trying to influence

an election."

In contrast, the hour-long Fox program "The Faulkner Focus"

spent less than 10 minutes on the trial, focusing in part on

potential flaws in the prosecution's case.

During the Fox show "Outnumbered" co-host and former Trump

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told a roundtable

of panelists that her former boss looked "strong" and

"confident" and that Democrats were misguided in thinking the

case "would mire Trump in negative coverage."

Of the two Fox legal analysts who spoke on the air, one was

critical of the prosecution's efforts and the other described

the case as the "weaponization of the criminal legal system."

Asked for comment on their coverage, a Fox News spokesperson

said the network's newsgathering teams had been reporting on all

facets of Trump's hush money trial. Representatives for MSNBC

did not respond to a request for comment.

SPLIT CABLE

A 2022 study published by the National Academy of Sciences

that analyzed 10 years of cable television news found a growing

partisan gap, particularly after the 2016 election that Trump

won, as networks like Fox News and MSNBC shifted to the right

and the left of the political spectrum respectively, especially

in their prime-time programming.

Separate research from last year, by University of

California, Berkeley, political scientist David Broockman and

Berkeley alumnus Joshua Kalla of Yale University, found that

many Americans were in "partisan echo chambers," where they only

consumed television news that reinforced their existing

political and social biases.

"Most people who tune in to Fox News lean to the right, but

Fox draws them further to the right," the authors wrote.

"Likewise, MSNBC is pulling those to the left further left. And

neither side almost ever watches the other."

The Fox News spokesperson pointed to data from Nielsen MRI

Fusion showing the network has the most politically diverse

audience in cable news with more Democrats, Republicans and

independents watching Fox News than any other cable news

network.

When the court wrapped up for the day, Trump came out to

speak to the media, calling the case unfair and denying

wrongdoing.

MSNBC carried his remarks live for a few minutes before

cutting him off, with anchor Andrea Mitchell saying the former

president was trying to minimize the case against him.

"This has nothing to do with the federal government,"

Mitchell added, responding to Trump's claim that legal cases

against him were being driven by the Biden administration.

The hush money case is being prosecuted by the Manhattan

district attorney. The federal government is not involved.